Solange has managed to sum up the frustrations of black people living in America with a single album and honestly she deserves more credit. I can literally listen to whole her album on repeat and not skip a song because every song and interlude is important. To me, interludes are usually irrelevant and unnecessary but this album made me see them as links that connect the entire album together. Each song and interlude is a story with deep meaning. Not only does Solange relate to the experience of the black woman, she relates to the black man and the black community as a whole.
In her song Don’t Touch My Hair, she talks about people trying to touch the natural hair of black women and how white people just don’t understand that it’s more than just hair. Honestly, some people will just go straight to trying to touch your hair because it’s different without even asking. Then, when you object they will respond with it’s just hair. They fail to realize and understand that black women were ostracized because of their hair and told that it was ugly and unprofessional and that to have long, straight hair was better than having kinky, nappy, coily hair. 
We were told so by our elders and some of us were given relaxers at a very young age when we didn’t even know what a relaxer was. Furthermore, the journey to becoming natural and accepting my own hair woke me up in so many ways and actually helped me evolve as a person. When people don’t and can’t understand that struggle it’s frustrating and annoying. Also when they try to put their hands in your hair without permission, it just makes me feel as if “Wow you think you are allowed unlimited access into my personal space and that my hair and my body is for you to do with as you please.” Wrong! Yes I am black! Yes I am a woman! But I am not your slave or your property! You do not own me or my hair and this is not a petting zoo! You can ask and I can decline. And there should be no question about it.
Her song F.U.B.U. is essentially about reclaiming the word nigga and letting white people know that they can’t have everything. F.U.B.U. repeatedly says nigga throughout the entire song so that if you are not a black person, there is no way that you can sing along. Or if you do, then you’re gonna have to censor yourself or prevent yourself from saying the word every time it comes up. Even if a black friend says that it’s okay for you to use the word, you should know that it’s not okay and check yourself for even asking and attempting to say it. For some reason, some white people fee like they should be able to say the word and think it’s just a word. Similar to the mindset that hair is just hair, but that’s not the case. Nigga has deep historical meaning to the black people of America and it brings forth emotions of anger and sadness. To be able to reclaim that word as something for only the black community to use is empowering. And Solange’s song F.U.B.U. encompasses that feeling of empowerment and speaks on the frustration that black people feel because of racism.
I’m not going to go through every song, but I definitely recommend this album for every black person in America and the world. Solange’s songs are soothing and she articulates the black struggle so beautifully. There a times that I’ve listened to this album while driving and I have cried and cried because not only does racism make me angry, it also makes me sad and I feel like there is nothing I can do. There are many ways to vent but these songs allow me to deeply explore my frustrations.
